Law enforcement and military personnel have always faced life-threatening risks in the performance of their duties. The danger of being on the receiving end of deadly force is especially high for members of law enforcement, because their job brings them in extremely close proximity to armed individuals who will fire weapons at close range at police officers, sometimes without warning and sometimes before a police officer is aware of the danger. The risk to police officers is extremely high when performing traffic stops, responding to domestic disturbance calls, or when confronting an individual under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or while apprehending a criminal suspect.
To provide a significant degree of protection, many police departments require their officers to wear protective vests over their torsos that are designed to stop bullets from entering the body. Various improvements have been made over the last 70 years from the bulky flak jackets that military personnel used during World War II, utilizing lighter-weight materials that have proven to effectively stop the majority of bullets that are sold today. However, one significant problem remains unsolved: heat.
During the winter months, when temperatures are low, wearing a protective vest doesn't pose a significant risk of causing the wearer to overheat. But during summer months, when temperatures and humidity can be stifling, wearing a protective vest places a significant risk of overheating on the wearer. The wearer's core temperature can rise quickly and become an enormous distraction at a time when the wearer needs to focus attention on his or her immediate surroundings, not their own discomfort. Being distracted instead of focusing on potentially deadly threats can easily result in death or serious injury, as a protective vest does not provide absolute protection to the wearer. For example, the best quality protective vest does not protect a person's head, throat, or main arteries in the lower abdomen and legs. If the wearer is more focused on their discomfort, they may miss the opportunity to protect themselves from a deadly attack.